The boys got lots of gifts. For Danny, beer and money seemed to be the popular items while Jamie’s gifts were of the Star Wars and Lego variety. Perfect.

Sunday was a day of rest for us. Which basically meant I did last minute Christmas shopping stuff while Danny watched the kids and cleaned up. We’re a solid team.

Christmas Eve was our Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa and the kids had a great time.

[she’s channeling her inner fashionista…attitude and all]

We brought Chinese food in (because who doesn’t love almond chicken and chow mein…for real…) and ate lunch before diving into the gifts.

[Charlotte only eats miniature horse, clearly. Fashionistas can be so moody.]

Then…the gifts.

As great as it would be to have kids who say, “Oh, mother, the presents don’t matter….I just like being with all of you…” that’ll be a cold day in hell. Present matter 100% to kids on Christmas, and I’m okay with it. Because being a kid at Christmas rocks, whether you get one gift or 10. Getting gifts is awesome.

And Christmas did not disappoint.

Oh, and we got a special Christmas gift, too. Danny G came to town!! My kids adore him and it was a lot of fun hanging out with him.

Danny was happy to see his friend. Like, super happy. Because best friends are the best.

And then, just when I thought the day was perfect, Charlotte busted out her new trick.

What’s she doing? She’s a cat, you moron. Obviously. But if you could hear her, you’d swear there was a dying animal just outside the sliding glass door. The sound is horrible. She squeaks in a low voice and you almost think she is crying. But then she crawls right up to your leg and demands a little scratch behind the ears. It is the weirdest and most hilarious thing any of my kids have done at this age. The tiny kitten cannot impersonate a kitten. Who knew?

After Grandma and Grandpa’s (where Danny and I got spoiled, too!) we went to church. It was actually okay. The kids were good (it’s hard to be bad when you’re playing apps on your parent’s iPhones the entire time. Believe me, God approved.) and the babies both fell asleep. Which was fine, because at home, I had stuff to do.

I stuffed stockings and got things ready for the morning pretty much until midnight. The house was kinda a mess, so I had to clean it (didn’t have to, but who likes a messy house when they first wake up? I don’t). The kids tried to come up once, but I stopped them mid-flight of stairs. I’m quick. Jamie woke up at 4:30AM and crawled in with Patrick (who stayed over) on the couch and wouldn’t stop talking about Minecraft. I finally woke up enough to realize he was out there chatting it up and brought him in to our room, where he swore he was awake for the day. I panicked but then was fine when I heard him snoring 5 minutes later. I can’t handle 5 AM wake ups.

But then it was Christmas morning.

[baby doll for Charlotte — this girl can not get enough of her babies! Dawn gave her one that she cannot put down. She has one that she is constantly trying to steal from Alice (because it’s actually Alice’s from Megan!) non-stop. She feeds them and carts them around and talks baby talk to them. Hilarious.]

[bike for Alice. Jamie got a bike, too, but my camera said “error” when I snapped that picture. That’s another story.]

[scooter for Ria]

And this gem?

In my stocking. I laughed so hard when I opened it. Thank God, so did Danny. Oh, I love him.

The room I put together downstairs has turned into the Lego building room.

But that’s okay, because it contains the pieces.

Oh, you wanna know what Danny got me? Why didn’t you say so?

The best blanket in the entire universe. An XL Luxe Giraffe Home blanket. ohhhhhh my goodness, it’s the best. Oh, and a Doberman mug. He knows how to please the ladies.

There’s more to this post, but I have to upload the pictures from my little camera. My big camera? Neverending “error” message. It’s horrible. And annoying. So tomorrow: pictures of Christmas at my parents.